The document summarizes a cost-benefit analysis of comprehensive farm to school programs. It outlines three policy alternatives: the current policy, a local procurement program, and a comprehensive farm to school program. It finds that a comprehensive farm to school program that also adopts new meal standards yields the highest net benefits of $1.6 million per average school district by considering fiscal costs and benefits as well as social costs and benefits like health impacts and local economic activity. However, more data is still needed to fully analyze the costs and benefits from both the demand and supply sides of farm to school programs.

1. Comprehensive
Farm to School: A
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Sarah Foster, Wisconsin
Farm to School Summit,
June 27th 2013

2. Outline
 Comprehensive farm to school
 Fundamentals of a CBA
 Policy alternatives
 Fiscal and social costs and benefits
 Considered benefits
 Limitations
 Future implications

3. Comprehensive Farm to School
Local
Procurement
Nutrition/Ag
Education
Student
Engagement

4. What is a Cost-Benefit Analysis?
 Measures economic
efficiency of programs or
policies
 Monetize all costs and
benefits
 Net benefits = benefits-costs
 Bottom line: Net benefits =
adopt policy
 Not the ultimate decision
making tool (other factors
such as equity, political
climate)
Costs Benefits

5. Who Matters?
 Standing
 District and state
level (fiscal)
 State level (social)

6. Policy Alternatives
 Current policy
 Alternative 1: Local procurement
 Alternative 2: Comprehensive farm to
school
 Alternative 2(a): Comprehensive farm to
school and adoption of HHFKA new meal
standards

7. Fiscal and Social Costs
 Fiscal
 Staff training, equipment, comprehensive
F2S elements, administrative costs,
reimbursement rate
 Social
 METB- Cost to society of program or policy
 Opportunity cost of chaperone and
teacher time

8. Fiscal and Social Benefits
 Fiscal
 Equipment scrap value (after 20
years), increased meal participation
 HHFKA federal meal reimbursement (6
cents)
 Social
 Decreased absenteeism
 Health benefits (avoided health care costs)

9. Considered Benefits
 Local economic activity
 Staff impacts
 Student academic
performance
 Satisfaction from farmer
relationships

10. Results
Policy Alternatives Net Benefits (per average
district)
Alternative 1 -45,000
Alternative 2 $480,000
Alternative 2(a) $1.6 million

11. Sensitivity Analysis

12. Limitations
 Limited data on F2S effectiveness
 Introduction of HHFKA
 CBA focused on demand side, what about the supply
side?
 Funding for programming

13. Future Implications
 Data collection!
 Health
 Economic
 Further analysis of the supply side
 Market opportunity for agriculture
producers?
 Economic impact?

14. Acknowledgements
 The rest of the CBA team!
Norma-Jean Simon, Ryan
Eisner, Leni Wolf, Miriam
Palmer, Marc Harding
Hanson
 Emily Reynolds
 Dr. Weimer
 Amy Meinen
 Dale Schoeller
 Andrea Bontrager Yoder
 CIAS
 DATCP
 DPI
 DHS

15. Questions?